


Fire in My Veins and Air in My Lungs

by RunWithWolves



Series: 30 Days of Cupcake [10]
Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, air laura, avatar AU, elements AU, fire princess carmilla
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-23
Updated: 2016-09-23
Packaged: 2018-08-16 22:44:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8120410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RunWithWolves/pseuds/RunWithWolves
Summary: With literal fire on her fingertips, Carmilla has already decided to hate her new roommate Laura Hollis. Forced together by the university's 'elemental equality policies', she's sure that the air-focused girl will want nothing to do with her. At first she's right. But Laura is nothing if not persistent.





	

**Author's Note:**

> you get this early because i'm about to go chaperone a group of high schoolers on a camping trip. i haven't been camping since elementary school. and its raining. i'm *very* excited. it's going down to freezing tonight and i had to pack a toque.
> 
> more relevantly - i've written it so you don't need to know anything going in. however, if you watch atla or lok, you should be able to slide it into those universes.

Carmilla had been determined to hate Laura Hollis and that plan had gone horribly. She took the offered mug of chocolate and passed over the box of cookies as Laura settled onto Carmilla’s bed to watch a movie. Pressing play on the Disney movie, Laura grinned and snuggled into her nest of blankets unaware that Carmilla was willing herself to make any kind of sarcastic comment.

Nothing came out of her mouth and her traitorous body just shuffled closer to Laura’s. Not too close. But close. 

The hate plan was not going well. 

It had been born the second that Carmilla had been told that all Silas students would have a roommate this year as a package of information was shoved into her hands. Not even being a Karnstein had gotten her out of it. Even worse, she wasn’t even with another firebender. In an effort to create unity between the elementals, they were pairing up students from different elements to be roommates. 

Not only that but her roommate was to be her assigned partner in the sparring ring. Carmilla hadn’t sparred since she’d gotten to this school. She wasn’t about to start now. 

She was, quite possibly, the only one who refused.

No fire bigger than her thumb. That was her rule. 

So Carmilla had resolved to hate this unnamed roommate. Undoubtedly they’d try to make her spar, ask a hundred questions about being the Fire Princess, and just generally be annoying. 

The first wrench in her plan came when she got the roommate announcement. Laura Hollis. Airbender.

Carmilla had choked on her coffee, catching the edges of the paper on fire. She quickly put them out and smoothed the paper to doublecheck. There it was: airbender. Carmilla hadn’t even been aware that the school had any airbenders. While fire, water, and earth were fairly common, air had been systematically wiped out through a series of attacks that the fire nation was still trying to atone for. At least some of the fire nation. 

Carmilla wasn’t sure about her mother. 

These days, there were only a few pockets of airbenders, scattered in their own small communities. Most people would never see one, Carmilla was about to move in with one. She resolved to maintain the hate plan even as she wandered to the royal library to spend her summer holidays reading books on the ancient air nation. 

Then she met Laura Hollis.

#

A tiny bubble of sunshine strolled into the dorm room as Carmilla set up her books. Her fingers paused as her peripheral caught long brown hair and an easy smile, so Carmilla went back to her books. There was a thump behind her of a bag falling on a bed. Carmilla continued to say nothing. 

“So,” Laura voice was nothing like she expected, “You must be Carmilla.”

“Must I be?” Carmilla stuffed a history book on the shelf. 

There was a tinge of panic in th voice behind her, “Wait. Are you not Carmilla? Am I in the wrong room? Cause I did get a little turned around back in the lobby because like everyone is moving in and they have so much stuff, which seems unnecessary but okay. And I got cornered by this family of earthbenders moving a whole piano and it’s possible that I ended up in the wrong wing and-”

“Whoa, seriously? Calm down.” Carmilla spun around, “You’re in the right room. No need for all of this word blather.” The girl in front of her was shorter than she was, a single duffle bag falling on the bed, and a wooden staff leaning against the wall. 

Laura winced, “The monks always used to say that I wasn’t very good at finding my inner peace.”

“You don’t say?” Carmilla said, “Cause you seem like the epitome of calm.” 

“I can be calm!” Laura objected.

Carmilla snorted, “Like a volcano maybe.” This was good for the hate plan.

“I’ve completed my training,” Laura said, “I’m a certified airbender.”

“But not a master?” Carmilla taunted.

“I’m working on it!” Laura said, throwing her arms in the air. The frown on her face made her nose crinkle in a way that Carmilla was working on not finding adorable. 

Still, she rolled her eyes, “Trouble with that calm then?”

“You’re a fire bender,” Laura shouted, “What would you know about calm? You guys are all just smash and burn and anger and death. You’re a Karnstein for cumulus sake. The worst of them. That’s what you do. Get angry and burn anything good to the ground. Not an ounce of calm in you. Just a bunch of no good firebenders.”

Carmilla clenched her jaw and jammed her hands into her pockets. She spun around, turning her back to Laura. The tension in her chest demanded that she let it go, hitting her so hard that her body felt like it was shaking. Muscles pulled tight. Her breaths were shaky through her clenched teeth. 

She squashed the fire, pushing it back down to embers.

“Carmilla?” A small hand touched her shoulder and Carmilla shoved it off.

“Don’t,” she growled, “just don’t. All firebenders are evil right? I’m the worst of them all. It’s all cut clear isn’t it? I’m a Karnstein so I must be evil, the heir to the Fire Throne must be just waiting for her turn to burn the world to ashes. Gotta keep an eye on her. All anger and rage and fire.Evil from the day she was born.” Her voice was dry, “Not the first time I’ve heard it, airbender.”

Laura’s voice was small, “I’m sorry. That was poor -”

“I don’t want to hear it,” Carmilla said stiffly. She glanced over her shoulder. Laura looked like a kicked puppy, her mouth open slightly. 

She was expecting more apologies but Laura surprised her, “I suppose that proves you were right.’

That had Carmilla turning around. She clenched a book protectively to her stomach, “What?”

Laura smiled wryly, “Apparently, I’m not very good at staying calm.”

Carmilla’s mouth twitched. Laura held out her hand, “Laura Hollis. Airbender. Colossal idiot.”

Carmilla turned away, “You said it, not me.”

#

Scowling up at the stand, Carmilla crossed her arms and waited for Laura to show up. Undoubtedly the other girl would be bouncing with joy at the fact that they had their first sparring match today. She and her annoying roommate had been paired against some red haired water and earth duo from down the hall. She was pretty sure that they were Laura’s friends. 

The only reason she knew that was because Laura was still trying to talk to her. Babbling about her day while Carmilla just sat there or trying to get her to clean her hair out of the shower, always sneaking in an apology or two. 

The whole thing was exhausting. Girl seemed to have a guilt complex a mile wide. 

Carmilla could relate. 

Scowling at the thought that she’d have anything in common with the perky airbender, Carmilla adjusted the sparring pads on her arms. The only reason she was even here was because she’d gotten a letter from her mother insisting that Carmilla participate. When the Fire Lord insisted. She showed up.

That didn’t mean she was about to use her fire though. Unless the ginger twins were intimidated by the world’s tiniest flame, they were done. 

She’d never even seen Laura airbend. 

Laura rushed into the room, her hair askew as she tried to jam her helmet on with her gloves between her teeth. It was most definitely not adorable. She bounced lightly in place as she geared up and Carmilla practically groaned at the thought of having to watch Laura try and battle their two opponents. The girl screamed competitive. 

The referee called time and Carmilla grudgingly slouched her way over to her mark. Perhaps if she backed up enough, the gingers twins would leave her be while they went after Laura. 

The bell rang.

Carmilla took a step back as two rocks immediately launched themselves at her head. Instead of looking at the earthbender, she kept her eyes on the water snaking its way around the curly ginger. 

She may not be using her fire but water was still the worse. 

Suddenly, two taps rang out and she froze. Carmilla looked over to find Laura Hollis leaning towards the ground, repeating the two taps that meant they surrendered. All without throwing an air punch. She caught Carmilla’s gaze and shrugged. 

“Not really your thing, right?”

#

Two weeks later and Laura had surrendered every match. She seemed almost proud of their names listed at the very bottom of the scoreboard, no points. No hits made. No hits taken. 

Something about the girl drew the question out of Carmilla, “Is it an airbender peace thing? Not willing to throw a punch?”

Laura’s smile turned into the first smirk Carmilla had ever seen. The next thing she knew, Laura did something with her hands and a massive ball of air hit Carmilla in the face. She was knocked back into her bed, landing on the soft pillows. 

She sat up, eyes wide as she stared at the tiny airbender.

Laura was clearly fighting a case of the giggles and when Carmilla touched her hair, she found it resembled something far beyond even windblown. “I just don’t like to waste it,” Laura said between the giggles, “that was totally worth it though. Don’t forget to take your hair out of the shower drain. It’s gross Carmilla and i won’t live with it anymore.”

As far as Carmilla knew, you couldn’t waste bending but something in Laura’s eyes told her not to ask. 

When Laura was out with a late night class, she fished the hair out. 

#

Laura was still trying to befriend to her. Carmilla fell between silence and sarcastic comments. Although Laura seemed determined to be her friend and go against the ate plan. If nothing else, Carmilla’s sarcasm was getting a work out.

“How was class?” Laura asked

“The epitome of entertainment,” Carmilla drawled, “I love wasting my time on lackwhits who don’t know ember from flame.”

Laura’s nose crinkled but she quickly smoothed it out, “That’s too bad.” she said, “I can’t really related. Sometimes I catch myself wishing I had classmates. Take some of the attention off me.”

As the only airbender, all of Laura’s classes were essentially one-on-one with her teachers. The question slipped out again before Carmilla could stop it, “What do you even do?”

Forget fire, Laura’s grin could have lit up the palace, “In the mornings I usually do meditation. Center myself and all of that spiritual stuff. I like the afternoons better. My teachers rotate in and we practice different routines and styles and focuses. Pretty much everything you can think of. Balls and blades and currents and grounding and,” she paused, “well not flying. I do that on my own. But the rest of it, yeah. My teachers are like really into it. Really intense because it’s just me.”

Carmilla found herself leaning forward, listening to Laura’s answer. She cursed herself, falling back on the bed. Laura’s smile was still too wide.

She couldn’t have her thinking that they might become friends. 

So Carmilla did the one thing that she knew would get a reaction. Sitting up and careful to keep her hand away from anything in the room, she snapped her fingers. A tiny flame burst to life on her thumb. It danced. Pleased at being let out, it cast shadows across her face. When it nudged her, asking to get bigger, she refused, limiting the flow of fire from her veins. 

Then she looked up at Laura, flame still on her thumb.

It wasn’t what she expected. Laura looked fixated, eyes on the flame. She didn’t take a step forward but she didn’t move back either. Instead, she seemed frozen. No fear. Just curiosity. 

Carmilla put it out. She forced words over her dry tongue at the look on Laura’s face, “Don’t worry, airbender. I’m not going to roast you in your sleep.” She pushed the sarcasm out, “I’m not that evil yet.”

Before she knew it, Laura reached out and touched her thumb. The palm of her hand landing lightly on Carmilla’s skin.

“I know.” She said. 

Carmilla looked at her. Just looked. The slight warmth of Laura’s palm on her finger. 

It was that warmth that kept Carmilla from scoffing when Laura said, “I know you don’t want me to but I want to apologize. Again. For what I said on the first day. That was out of line and I should have known better. I just. I don’t. I have some bad memories with fire. But that’s got nothing to do with you.”

Carmilla swallowed, “Don’t worry about it. Not the first time. I hardly take it to heart.”

“It may not have been the first time but I will make sure that it was the last.” Laura’s words sounded like a promise.

Their eyes met. 

Laura blushed, then darted across the room, “Okay. Nice fire. Good chat. I’m going to get some dinner. Bye!” The door swung shut behind her.

Carmilla snapped her finger and the flame popped up again. Her own fire wasn’t supposed to have any heat to her yet she almost could have sworn it felt warm. 

That was when Carmilla had known that she was doomed to be friends with Laura Hollis. Hate plans or not.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you cupcakes. Thank you so much. I'm blown away by your support through kudos and comments and [tumblr stop-ins](http://ariabauer.tumblr.com/). I'm still working to answer every one and i think i'm almost caught up <3
> 
> This is the tenth story of '30 Days of Cupcake' where I'll be posting a unique Carmilla fanfic every weekday for 30 days. Stay stupendous. Aria.


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